


Freedom is Abstract

by Fencelor



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, All characters are basically BAMF, Alternate Universe, Angst, BAMF Connor, BAMF Markus, BAMF North, Bodyguard Romance, Connor & North (Detroit: Become Human) Friendship, Dark, Fluff, Forced Marriage, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Love, M/M, Mob boss Amanda Stern, Mob boss daughter North, Mob boss son Connor, Nines is in college, Police Man Markus, RK1000 - Freeform, References to Drugs, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, alice is so cute, ayye my first fanfiction in years help me, rk1k - Freeform, the original jericrew are here, these fools, they're going to get together way before the end though, this may or may not go the way you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fencelor/pseuds/Fencelor
Summary: Connor Stern had been raised by and groomed for the life of crime since he was young. He had been made for this, though some traitorous part of him always believed there was more. He wanted to grow up like a normal kid and go to college like his brother. But he knew he was stuck with this life and the golden band wrapped mockingly around his finger proved it so.Then he meets him. A man who allows him a taste of freedom and changes him, for better or for worse.





	1. Another Normal Day

It started as just another normal day in the life of Connor Stern, son of the infamous Amanda Stern. He was crossing the street, returning to the manor after having finished his latest objective assigned to him by his mother. A successful deal had just taken place, thanks to Connor himself, and the boy allowed himself feelings of elations. Maybe because of this, he had been too preoccupied to be more aware of his surroundings. 

He had no time to react as a hand locked over his mouth and dragged him away from the street empty of pedestrians. The man struggled to break free from his attacker, but the other had a deathly strong grip on him. 

In a moment of sheer brilliance, Connor licked his lips as he opened them and caught the skin of his assailant’s hand between his teeth. Then the brunette elbowed him harshly and used the momentum to fling himself from the unwanted hold. He started to dash across the midnight cloaked street. 

“You little shit!” 

Connor swiftly observed his area and entered a small back alleyway that forked off into other alleys. He took the left most of the paths, knowing it would take him to a more populated area. He wasn’t exactly terrified as he had many encounters like this before with the life he had, so he rather welcomed the freeing adrenaline pulsing throughout his body. 

It seemed he had made a mistake as two figures stepped in front of him suddenly and blocked him from the view of street-goers. He turned around to flee the other way. 

The guy from before cut him off and shoved him to the ground. Connor growled like the caged animal he was as he lashed out with a kick that sent the first attacker sprawling. The two others wasted no time in pinning down his arms and legs. 

Connor twisted and turned, arching his back to push them off of him, managing to get one foot loose as it swung into the closest perpetrator's face. The hands on his ankles left and he grabbed onto the person holding his arm’s down. 

Minion number three only had moments to react before he was in a headlock between the young man’s legs. The boy squeezed his legs together as he sent the man face-first into the ground. 

A sudden flurry of hands began grabbing at him again as he fought them off ruthlessly. Somehow in the commotion, the young Stern ended up with his chest against the pavement and his limbs locked behind his back and between pairs of calloused hands. The boy started to panic once he realized he couldn’t break their grasp. 

“Why are you doing this?” He said through gritted teeth, still thrashing against the muggers. Their bindings on him only tightened.

“You have what we want,” the first one said as he stepped out and kneeled in front of Connor. The man looked to be in his late thirties and the age lines that caked his face was about as fashionable as the dark stains on his white t-shirt. The irritable pink that lined his eyes and nose told Connor that he was an active red ice user. A potential past client then, maybe?

“What’s that?” The brunette grew frustrated at the situation he was in and the fact he couldn’t escape. He gave up on trying. The man flashed a rotted apple grin at him.

“Your kind never give what you’ve promised us, silver tongue.”

“We always have delivered what we’ve agreed to and just because you disregard fine-tuning details does not-” a boot met the back of his head as his nose cracked sickly against the pavement.

“You’re a cocky little bastard, ain’t ya? Wits ain’t no match in a fight,” the sound of metal scraping against the concrete reached the fear growing inside Connor’s heart, “A knife fight at that.”

“Did you seriously bring a knife to a gun fight?” an unfamiliar voice called out as a gun was cocked. “Sorry to break up the party, gentlemen, but I think you should let go of him.”

There was a moment of silence before the pressure on him left completely. He pushed himself off the ground and watched the fleeing backs of his attackers with a scowl. He slowly got his barrings and stood, holding in his grunt of pain. 

“Ah shit, here, let me help you.” The voice reminded him of another presence. 

Something grabbed his shoulders and Connor pushed it off of him, not wanting to show weakness or be held against his will again. He didn’t want to hurt again.

“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you just let me help.” Despite the uneasiness in his stomach, Connor felt compelled to listen to the comforting voice. “Try to stay awake for me, okay? What’s your name?” 

The brunette fell against another body. His thoughts were becoming sluggish and he didn’t know he was speaking until way past the part his lips began to move. “-Connor.” There was a soft weight that came to settle atop his head. 

“Alright, Connor, everything is going to be okay. Just try to stay awake.”

Connor felt himself being strapped into a leather seat and was confused by how he got there. He tugged uselessly at it, offended by its presence. The young man didn't understand why it was there. His head dropped back against the headrest and his eyelids began to droop. He technically hadn’t promised the voice he would stay awake. A gentle rhythm made of teardrops played against the window, effectively calming him. The lights from inside late-night stores and street lamps flying by were the last things he saw as he nodded off to sleep.

It started as just another normal day for Connor Stern; the day that had changed his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, lovely. :)
> 
> Got any questions or concerns? Contact me via Instagram (@ajin_anglyx) and Tumblr (@ajinanglyx). My name is Florence if you feel uncomfortable addressing me as my username.
> 
> This fanfiction was inspired by a discussion I had with others in the RK1K Discord.


	2. The Slip of Paper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was something familiar about the portrait Connor couldn't place and a man missing an eye gives him an eyeful.

Connor had stared at the picture of a young man and two little boys for what had seemed like an eternity. The picture showed the man wrapping his arms around their shoulders, a grin on all of their faces. He knew that the young man was the shining beacon the detective before him once was. The two little boys he assumed was his sons, but there was something about them that Connor couldn’t quite place. A sense of deja-vu washed over his body in a rush but he couldn’t pinpoint why.

“Your name is Connor Coulson?” Connor blinked, broken out of his trance by the question.

“That’s correct,” it was his legal name.

Connor looked at the invisible void past the Lieutenant's head, finding it more interesting than looking at the old man's depressed-warn face. Lt Anderson asked him the usual string of inquiries one would expect about the attack on him.

“Your attackers, you said one of them was on Red Ice?” The detective asked. His sun-spotted fingers flicked over pages amiably. 

“Yes.” 

“Did you know that you were drugged?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why they attacked you?” 

“No,” Connor said as the lie fell sickly on his tongue. Funny, for years he had to lie to get himself out of bad situations but never once did it sit right with him. He looked at the newspaper above the desk about how the detective before him had graduated top of his class. It made him nervous, to say the least. Nervous that the man knew who he was.

“Do you know of anyone who might hold a grudge against you or a family member?”

“No,” he said. His right leg was bouncing in its spot as he grew more and more anxious to leave the interrogation.

“Look I know it must be difficult, son, but is there something you're not telling me?” Hank Anderson drawled, leaning forward a bit in his chair as he gave Connor a scare. If he was as perceptive as his legacy told him to be, Hank knew he had lied.

“No, sorry, Lieutenant. Nothing comes to mind.” Connor had made sure to slow down his speech as to not arouse any more suspicion while settling a hand on his bouncing knee to keep it still.

The detective seemed to consider that for a moment as he tilted his head before something else came to his mind. “Son, uh, why do you call me Lieutenant? I'm not your senior officer as you are a civilian.”

Connor flushed, embarrassed that he had done that. He had wanted to be a detective when he was little and was familiar with a lot of terms and definitions. It just felt natural to say, Lieutenant, in an odd way.

“Connor, I don't mind it, seriously. I just would prefer you called me Hank,” the old man gave a ghost of a smile. It felt good, to be smiled at. “After all, I am working to bring the sickos who did this to you to justice, alright?”

Connor didn't want that. He knew if Hank found the perps he was done for. They had no reason to keep their mouths shut about him. 

“Alright, Hank,” the young man replied, still uneasy. The lieutenant let out a gruff sigh and stood.

“That will be all for now. You should go home and heal up. Brag about your new wounds or whatever.” 

Connor stood up as well, the fast motion dizzying his head. He pushed his seat in politely to which Hank lifted a brow at. 

“And they say chivalry is dead,” the lieutenant muttered. 

The silver-haired man rubbed at his beard awkwardly as they filed out. He stopped right in front of the young man before they reached the door. 

“If you have any more trouble, make sure to call us. 911 and all that mumbo-jumbo.” Hank waved his hand as if to brush off the words and Connor had to smile at how much more terrible the old man was than him at socializing. He nodded at the other.

“Thank you, Hank,” Connor said.

“Anytime, kid.”

Hank opened the door for him and he walked out without the lieutenant following behind, most likely to return to his office. He didn't really know what to think of Hank, but he had been informed he would need to speak often with him in the future in case he “remembered” anything that may further the investigation. He supposed it would work for now and he would wait until the case lost priority to stop talking to the lieutenant. Because that's how it went- eventually cases lose priority and then they may never get solved. 

Connor was surprised when he saw the police officer that had driven him to the hospital earlier sitting in the closest seat in the waiting room. He didn't know why he was still here.

“Officer, are you supposed to be on duty?” The brunette asked, confused. The officer must have not seen him enter because he looked up in surprise. One green eye and one blue eye framed perfectly by high cheekbones stared at him, and Connor had to wonder what kind of God just left an angel in the streets? This man was the one who saved him? Connor was melting despite the air being rather chilly. 

“I actually am off duty,” the enforcer of the law replied evenly with a smile. “I was just waiting on you.”

“You didn't need to do that,” the lawbreaker said.

“I didn't but I just wanted to make sure you were alright,” he said so sweetly that Connor really wasn't sure how to respond. It made his heart warm slightly.

“I'm fine.” The other simply nodded and stood up next to the young man. He extended his hand and Connor was relieved at the familiar formality, briefly taking the hand in his own and shaking it. He tried not to think about how calloused that hand was.

“Markus,” the man said.

“Huh?” 

“Markus, that's my name,” the man with kind eyes- Markus said with a smile. “Do you need a ride home?”

Connor shook his head. He couldn't let any law enforcement anywhere near the manor. Markus’s shoulders seemed to droop as if disappointed by Connor’s answer, but his smile never left his face. It made him feel guilty and compelled the brunette to agree, like an idiot. “Actually, I could use a ride. It’s snowing.”

The man before him brightened and Connor was enamored by the way that pearly beaming had grown bigger. It caused him to adopt a small grin of his own. 

They walked outside the precinct together. The pretty white covered ground crunched beneath their shoes.

“Thank you,” Connor said as he wrapped his coat tighter around himself as the cold nipped at his broken nose. The bigger man looked to him in question. “For saving me, earlier. It’s embarrassing you had to but I am thankful.”

“It’s my job,” Markus said and rolled his shoulders with a shrug as they stopped in front of a worn down pickup truck. It was an old model and the young Stern wondered why Markus didn’t upgrade it.

“And is this your job too?” Connor asked. Markus pulled out his keys and unlocked his truck. The other man smirked.

“No, it’s something I only do for damsels in distress,” he said and opened the door for the brunette. Connor crossed his arms, unamused. 

“I’m not a damsel,” he said, but slid into the seat anyways. The cold leather against his thin pants started to shake as Markus reached across him and started up the engine.

Markus shook his head with a small chuckle. “Of course not.” He then closed the door and walked around to the other side and Connor couldn’t help but notice how the man carried himself so gracefully, as if he had all the time in the world. He probably did.

They drove through the bustling of Detroit as Connor gave him directions to an address not his own. Other than that their ride was mostly silent. Albeit, Connor wanted to ask the man next to him why he had saved him? Why did the man have such an old vehicle? Why was the truck full of scents like paint and oil? Why did he have a fake eye that didn’t even match his other one in color? But he kept those questions to himself, knowing he had just met the man and probably wouldn’t ever see him again.

When they stopped, Connor stepped out of the truck and thanked Markus. He was about to close the door and walk away when the policeman grabbed his arm gently. 

“Connor, if something happens like that again, call me, okay?” He said and used his free hand to place a crumpled slip of paper in his pale palm. Connor looked at Markus in shock, but wrapped his fingers around the number. Markus was worried about him?

The brunette could only manage to nod dumbly as Markus let go, shut the door, and drove off. He stood there for a moment, before putting the item in his coat pocket and going up to the door of the house. He knocked on the carved wood and waited as footsteps approached him. The door opened to reveal one of his fiance’s bodyguards. Connor smiled at him.

“Hey, Josh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :)
> 
> I think I will regularly update on Mondays unless something occurs for me to change my new schedule.
> 
> Got any questions or concerns? Contact me via Instagram (@ajin_anglyx) and Tumblr (@ajinanglyx). My name is Florence if you feel uncomfortable addressing me as my username.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I felt a little nervous posting this chapter because it was rather lackluster compared to the first chapter haha.


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